(1):
(n.) Esp. in a good sense: The quality or state of deserving well; worth; excellence.
(2):
(n.) Reward deserved; any mark or token of excellence or approbation; as, his teacher gave him ten merits.
(3):
(n.) To earn by service or performance; to have a right to claim as reward; to deserve; sometimes, to deserve in a bad sense; as, to merit punishment.
(4):
(n.) To reward.
(5):
(v. i.) To acquire desert; to gain value; to receive benefit; to profit.
(6):
(n.) The quality or state of deserving well or ill; desert.